This week's Spotlight on Author is on Soraya Lane and her latest release, Always and Forever She also has a Kindle copy giveaway to one commenter!
Connect with Soraya Lane on:
I’m the author of... Always and Forever.
My life… As a child, Soraya dreamed of becoming an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya describes being an author as "the best career in the world", and she hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze.
Influences… I’m inspired by authors I love and respect, the interesting people around me, and women’s issues that I feel need to be told in stories.
How I write… 5 years ago my answer would have been different… now I have two young boys! I fit my writing in whenever I can around them now, and that usually involves school hours 4 days a week, and a mad juggle on Fridays at home with a 2 yr old as well as some late nights once they’re in bed! When I’m working on a manuscript I have a minimum daily target of 2,000 words per day during the week, and somedays that’s easy and other days it feels like an impossible task.
Motivation… my writing is my full time job and I treat it as a job. In saying that, it’s what I love so I’m very lucky to do what I do for a living! I write romance, women’s fiction and middle grade children’s books for three different publishers, so my deadlines are a great motivator!
My book… Lisa and Matt can’t believe their luck. They have a dream house and a dream marriage, and very soon they’ll have a dream family too. But life is rarely that simple. When their beautiful life is rocked by tragedy, they are forced to make an unbearable choice. Suddenly the future they’ve built together looks fragile and exposed.
With aching hearts and their love on the line, they set off on a road trip through the stunning Californian landscape, hoping that time—and distance from the life they thought perfect—will help them start again. Matt is desperate not to lose Lisa, but as they confront their grief in different ways, he may have lost her already.
Where there is love there ought to be strength, but this love has been tested to its limits. Have they endured too much heartbreak for one couple to take? Or will a journey down memory lane put them back on the road to love, hope—and each other?
Buy on:
Congratulations to Soraya (love that name). Always and forever are dreams that most of us share I think.
ReplyDeleteHi there. Thanks! I hated my name as a child because no one ever pronounced it correctly and I was too shy to say anything, but as an adult it's nice to have a different name :)
Deletesounds very realistic.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine. I really wanted to write a real book that dealt with real people and the issues they faced. The problems that Matt and Lisa face as a couple make them very three dimensional, "real" characters, and I loved writing about them!
DeleteGreat to meet you Soraya. Isn't it fabulous to have your job be what you love to do!
ReplyDeleteHi, Nas :)
Hi Carol. Nice to meet you too! Yes, it's so great to be able to do a job you love. I feel so lucky, and I also like that writing allows me to be the mum I want to be too - I can always do school pick-up, and I'm here whenever the kids need me!
DeleteOh goodness, this sounds like a very emotional story.
ReplyDeleteA 2 year old, oh you do have your hands full. lol
Hi Mary. Yes, it is, and it was so emotional to write. I was literally crying at the keyboard when I was writing some parts of the story, especially when Lisa feels so broken at one point, but it made it even more satisfying getting to the end of the story.
DeleteI love the sound of your writing environment, Soraya. And the book sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynda! Yes, I'm lucky to work at home and have a lovely environment. The book is one of my favourites!
DeleteGood to meet you, Soraya!
ReplyDeleteHi William. Great to meet you too!
DeleteI admire the way you carve out writing time Soraya. Beautiful name. I love reading road trips through an exotic landscape! Must have been fun to write!
ReplyDeleteHi Denise. I never realised how much time I had before I was a parent! It really helps to have a job I love, and writing books like this make it worth juggling kids/work. It was definitely a lot of fun to write, but very emotional too :)
DeleteThis sounds like an intriguing book. I hope the trip helps them! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was great to learn about Soraya and I wish her the best of luck.
~Jess
Hi Jess! Sorry for the late reply! I've been travelling for work and then home to sick kids for over a week!! I'm glad you liked hearing about the book... the road trip made them both face their fears and tackle their problems head on :) Thanks for the comment.
DeleteCongratulations on the book. It sounds like a poignant story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry! It was a very emotional story to write :)
DeleteBeautiful cover. Thanks for the giveaway. This was a great spotlight to learn more about the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it Medeia - what a beautiful name! I love the colours in the cover too :)
DeleteSounds like a terrific book! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you think so Jemi! Thanks for dropping by and saying hello :)
DeleteLovely cover! Oh gosh, you're so inspiring, writing around the kids... I need to start doing more of this!
ReplyDeleteHi Deniz. If you have been thinking about writing more, then do it! I have a very sick little boy asleep on the sofa beside me. I'm thinking about sleeping now with him as so exhausted, but going to try to get 500 words in first!!
DeleteThe book sounds heart-rending, and sweet, and wonderful. Beautiful.
ReplyDelete